A Picture-Perfect Life in Hell
by Sosie98
Summary: "You're going to think I'm crazy," she whispered, staring up at him like a vision. "Probably not." Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase never meant to forget. Resolutely Percabeth.


**An idea I had when I probably should've been asleep.**

Chapter 1

Sometimes, in moments like this, on a stupid dance floor in the middle of her sophomore homecoming, Annabeth remembers. Not much, but just enough. Enough to know that she lost something that meant a hell of a lot to her.

It's a slow dance, and star quarterback, Jeremy Johnson (Number 11, GO TIGERS!), has just taken her hand and led her out onto the cheap checkerboard dance floor. It's nice, she's got to say, to have someone want to dance with her. But she's used to this. It's a tired act. She should probably care a little more that Jeremy Johnson, star quarterback, was holding her a little too close, and possibly just kissed her ear. She should probably care that she had totally forgotten deodorant, and Jeremy Johnson, star quarterback, was most likely regretting ever asking her to dance.

But, no. Annabeth could care less because something was telling her. Something inside her was breaking. A little chip in her brain that told her this had not been her first time at a Sophomore homecoming, and this had not had been the first guy that held her this close. This was definitely, however, the first guy to try to kiss her ear. That was seriously getting gross.

So she pulled away, much to the irritation of star quarterback, Jeremy Johnson, and separated herself from the rest of the happy couples, watching as the boy that should have been in her dreams found another sad wallflower's ear to kiss. And that girl's face light up like a star.

She sat down on a bleacher, her tulle dress blooming out beneath her, and buried her head in her hands. There was something she was missing. A crack somewhere in her brain that was slowly being closed. Filled by superglue of information.

Homecoming. A boy with black hair. He wasn't her boyfriend. No way. Ew. And a girl, with hair just as dark. Smiling widely at a curly haired woman as she told stories of the boy's childhood. Him getting more uncomfortable with every minute. Waving goodbye, and the cold. Sudden cold chill. A man with two-colored eyes, and a boy that she somehow knew had hooves.

And suddenly they were dancing. Suddenly, she realized that this had to be the missing link. Had to be the missing piece that was causing that breakdown. They were talking as they danced. Awkwardly, but comfortably. And she absentmindedly wondered if, in what she had convinced herself had to be a story she had heard somewhere, at some point, those two had ever fallen in love.

It was the green eyes that did it. In her imagination (it couldn't be anything else) she'd looked into those green eyes for a moment too long, and suddenly her head seemed to scream. Her eyes shot open, wider and wider. The world seemed to tilt and then right itself. Two lifetimes. An innocent choice. A proposition. A promise.

"This is boring, Percy, an infinity of barbecues, a lifetime of irritation from that overly sweet neighbor next door. Stuff like this doesn't happen in the Isles of the Blest."

"But it's nice here," Percy groaned, it looked like the boy in her imagination had aged ten years, "It'll be a lifetime of heroism again if we want to make it. A lifetime of heartbreak and immense pain. A lifetime of wishing we'd never gone back and done it again."

"Percy, I love you, but I can't stay here bored out of my mind forever."

"I know," he said with a smile, and pulling her close against his chest, "I don't want to either. I'm just scared I'll lose you again."

"You won't. If it's true love, we'll find each other. I'll search for you, I promise."

"I love you, Annabeth."

"I love you, too."

Annabeth stared at her high-heeled feet. She was nearly sixteen. Sixteen years she'd broken her promise. A promise neither of them had known would be near impossible to fulfill. Here she was, dancing with another boy at her high school homecoming, not even realizing that the man she loved was alive and possibly searching for her. But she hadn't remembered. It wasn't fair. They'd wiped her memory. It had to have been something in that stupid drink. It'd looked like apple juice, but tasted like chocolate.

She stared at her hands. The same from so long ago when they lay looking up at the stars in Elysium. But these hands had treason written all over them. These hands had held another boy's face as she kissed him in sixth grade. These hands had held the hand of a boyfriend she gushed to her parents about in eighth. And these hands had just held star quarterback, Jeremy Johnson's in an overly dramatic slow dance.

It wasn't really her fault that she started to cry. Nor was it her fault that the guy across the room took that moment to notice her. Or that star quarterback, Jeremy Johnson did at exactly the same time. The star quarterback reached her first and took her hand as if to comfort her, but Annabeth pushed him roughly away. She didn't really know what made her do it. Her insides were crying out, screaming, as the twenty-three year old, living a picture-perfect life in hell, emerged in a fifteen-year-old body a thousand miles away from her home.

So she ran, out the front door. Sinking into ankle deep snow without a jacket. Her whole body shivering. Becoming numb to the overwhelming feeling of pure pain and loss. Then suddenly, a hand on her shoulder. She shrunk away from it, almost hypothermic and shaking to her very core, but it pulls her up and spins her around, facing her with the same face as so many years ago, perfectly preserved. It was his face, but not the face she remembered. It was so much younger now. Had gained back imperfections that came with growth. But it was scared. Probably just as much as she was.

"You're going to think I'm crazy," she whispered, staring up at him like a vision.

"Probably not," He knelt down next to her in the snow.

"But I feel like I've known you before. Before now. I know I have, actually. And maybe I'm going insane, maybe it's the six APs this semester, I just…"

"Annabeth," this guy, Percy Jackson, she thought, took her hand and her whole body shook, "You're not going insane, I swear. I… I remember too, I just… did you remember anything about… about monsters…"

"A-and a prophecy," Annabeth whispered, her hair falling over her face.

"And a stupid decision we made to leave that perfect house in that perfect world down in the deep caverns of hell?"

Annabeth smiled slightly and wiped her eyes, "That was my stupid idea actually, you were just stupid enough to agree with me."

He smiled at her for just a second and then, without it seemed any forethought, wrapped his arms around her. And it was like the world had suddenly collapsed, and it was just the same as fifteen years ago. When they'd said goodbye with no idea if they'd ever see each other again. Then they broke apart and he stared at her with such a broken look on his face that she wanted to cry.

"My mom," he whispered, "Oh my Gods, my mom's still alive, and she thinks I'm dead and I'm here and… oh my Gods."

Annabeth looked scared, "Percy, she's not your mother anymore. You were raised by someone else."

He grabbed her wrists, "But we look the same don't we? She's my mother, Annabeth. I'll never forget her. And what about camp? What about camp, Annabeth? You know you miss it now. What about Thalia and Rachel and Grover and Travis and Connor and your brothers and sisters…"

Annabeth smiled, "I- I do. I do miss them… I've just… Percy, here in this world, the farthest I've ever been away from home is to school and back. Imagine how weird it would be for someone like me to hop on a bus and take the overnight to New York."

Percy smiled, "Incredibly weird. But an incredibly amazing weird, probably. We've done this before, Annabeth. This isn't new. You're just as smart and brave and beautiful as ever and… I'm well just as incredibly stupid. But the point is we found each other. Just like we promised. And we will stay together this time, no matter what. "

Annabeth stood up and brushed off the bottom of her tulle dress. Somewhere in the center of a pack of slow-dancing couples Jeremy Johson, star quarterback was waiting for her. Annabeth reached for Percy's hand and pulled him up.

"Come on Seaweed Brain," she smiled, "Let's go find a new adventure."

**There definitely will be a second chapter. I really want them to go see Percy's mom and go back to Camp and see everyone so much older than them now. **

**I enjoyed writing this and I hope you did too. **

**Review/follow/favorite**

**I love constructive criticism, but flamers will be resolutely ignored.**

**Much love,**

**Sofia **


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